Home sales drop by half compared to last year

As a measure of how much the property market has slid since the pandemic market peak, only half as many homes were sold across our wider region last month compared to November 2021.

However, the Association of Interior REALTORS® said a year-on-year comparison would not be a fair reflection, given the ‘frenzied and hyperactive’ market during the pandemic the previous two years.

The association said sales numbers were down 48.8 per cent, with 844 units changing hands across the Interior, but added that’s not far off a typical pre-pandemic November.

“We’ve come through this unprecedented time which I think is making it harder for people to really get a gauge of what is normal or could be expected,” association president Lyndi Cruickshank told Kelowna10.

And while prices are down, the lack of supply continues to help counteract that, according to Cruickshank.

“People’s needs haven’t changed. People still need to buy and sell homes and there’s still a real shortage of inventory on the market,” she explained.

In the Central Okanagan region, which includes Kelowna, only 252 units sold, which is 54 per cent fewer than a year ago. Prices have fallen for all categories of home and are still some way off their spring peaks.

Peak prices fall by up to 10 per cent

The benchmark price for a typical single-family home actually rose 0.5 per cent compared to November 2021 to $1,013,800. That’s 1.7 per cent more than in October, but still down 10.5 per cent from the April peak of $1,131,800.

A typical townhouse was valued at $756,900 for November, a 4.2 per cent jump over the previous year, but a 1.5 per cent drop since October. A townhouse is currently nine per cent off the high of $829,800 in May.

As for condos, a typical one went for $511,200 last month, which is 2.1 per cent more than a year ago, and about 4 per cent more than October. But condos were going for $557,400 in April, about 8 per cent more than the current price.

Asked if some people were reluctant to sell at a lower price than the peaks seen earlier this year, Cruickshank said there would always be people putting their home on the market based on what they feel it’s worth. However, she added there are others who are prepared to sell based on current market conditions.

“They are not always in alignment particularly when you see a market that has come down as quickly as ours … [but] the need for people to purchase still exists,” Cruickshank said. “Buyers are still out there looking for homes. Kelowna is a beautiful area to live in and we still have a shortage of inventory.”

How bigger markets are faring

On the bigger city scene, a special RBC housing report said the widespread market correction continues as expected, due to the heavy toll of soaring interest rates. Those rates, the bank said, are forcing many people to put their purchase plans on ice and others to house-hunt on a reduced purchasing budget.

In Vancouver, the drop in home resales was more than 12% on a seasonally-adjusted basis, bringing the cumulative decline since March at -51%. According to wowa.ca, a home in the metro area (all types) is priced at $1,131,600, which is 11% lower than the all-time high in April 2022.

In Calgary, since its peak in May, the area’s price index lost almost 5% in value, representing one of the milder corrections among Canada’s largest markets. A typical single-family home is now priced at $623,000.

In Toronto, prices have already adjusted significantly since the March peak—the MLS HPI is down 18%, or $245,000 (not seasonally adjusted). A typical home (all types) is valued at around $1,079,000.